Montreal police form integrity squad to root out corruption

Rene Bruemmer, Gazette Civic Affairs Reporter01.18.2013

Head of the SPVM Marc Parent (centre) speaks during a press conference held by Montreal mayor Michael Applebaum (right) to announce the formation of a new anti-corruption unit made up of Montreal police to investigate city affairs at Montreal City Hall in Montreal, on Friday, January 11, 2013.

MONTREAL - Calling it the first in-house police investigative unit of its kind in Canada, Montreal Mayor Michael Applebaum announced this morning the formation of a new anti-corruption unit made up mainly of Montreal police officers able to investigate all aspects of city affairs. Issuing a warning to all “profiteers and schemers” that attempt to swindle taxpayers through rigged construction contracts or other means, Applebaum, accompanied by Montreal Police Chief Marc Parent, said the new 20-member squad dubbed EPIM - Escouade de protection de l’intégrité municipale, or squad to protect municipal integrity - will have access to all aspects of civic affairs. All doors and files, he said would be open.

At the same time, Applebaum revealed that investigators from the provincial Charbonneau Commission investigating corruption in the construction industry were visiting Montreal’s city hall Friday afternoon to speak with him. Applebaum said he did not know what issues the investigators would raise, but said the visit was a normal part of the investigative process and he would furnish all information requested.

EPIM is supposed to be formed in the next weeks. Parent estimated it would cost roughly $3 million in its first year, given the cost of establishing headquarters and paying staff. The new unit will be autonomous and independent, with carte blanche to investigate all dossiers of the city of Montreal, Applebaum said. Asked whether the public could have confidence in an investigative unit mandated to police the city made up of police who are employees of the city, Applebaum reiterated that the squad was independent and answered to no one but itself.

“With the adoption of this squad, I’m sending a clear message to all the profiteers and schemers who wish to steal our tax contributions: be warned. You now have a new obstacle in front of you,” Applebaum said.

The new squad has the mandate to assure the integrity of the administration of the city of Montreal, particularly in the matters of issuing of contracts. Details from media reports and the Charbonneau Commission have unveiled allegations of widespread collusion among contractors bidding on public works projects, of which the city issues $1.5 billion a year, aided in many cases by corrupt civil servants, engineers and political parties who obtained hundreds of thousands in kickbacks.

Parent said the squad would work in co-operation with the provincial anti-corruption squad composed of Sureté du Québec police officers known as UPAC, as well as with investigators from the Charbonneau Commission. It is also expected to put in place new strategies and tools to limit corruption in city contracts. Investigators will also go out in the field to construction projects and have the power to investigate companies.

Applebaum said the squad would investigate any activities or contracts that could be corrupt, not just in the construction field, noting that it would look at anything from the awarding of computer technology contracts to the price of firefighters’ clothing.

Opposition party members welcomed the news, stressing that they had been asking for such a squad for years, and praised Applebaum for finally creating it. While many questioned whether it is coming far too late, given the fact corruption in the construction industry appears to have been widespread since at least the late 1980s, inflating the cost of city contracts by as much as 40 per cent, Projet Montréal leader Richard Bergeron said any measure like this would pay for itself by making it more difficult for corruption to fester. Corruption will never be completely cured, he said, but the new squad is one more tool that will make it more difficult to encroach.

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